Over the Edge
by HyLarryous
Summary: Sometimes there's no getting away from how you feel. Despair can swallow you whole and make you feel like you have no way out. It happened to Jaune Arc, and it drove him to do the unthinkable. Rated M for dark content.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this is apparently what happens when I forget to take my anti-** **depressants. It's not well written which isn't a surprise considering I've never written something like this, and a bit on the darker side , at least I think so. So go ahead and read it, and tell me what you think if you like.**

Jaune grunted as he landed on his ass, his sword scraping the ground as it skidded away from him, knocked away by his partner and friend Pyrrha.

She smiled and held her hand out, and he took it without thinking, allowing her to pull him to his feet. "That was much better than last time Jaune, you managed to parry my strike, you just need to follow through with your shield next time." She said, watching him retrieve his sword. "Shall we go again?" she asked.

The blonde shook his head. "I think three hours is enough for tonight. We still have Port's assignment to work on anyway." He responded, sheathing his sword and hooking it to his belt.

Pyrrha nodded and moved toward the door leading back into the building. Her hand was on the knob before she realized he wasn't close behind her. "Are you coming Jaune?" she asked in a concerned tone when she saw he was still standing near the edge of the roof.

He turned and smiled at her, which calmed her a bit. "I will in a bit, it's nice out tonight. You can go on ahead." He said.

Placated but still a bit worried, the red head went inside, leaving her leader on the roof alone.

When he heard the door shut Jaune let out a long sigh. _'Another night of training, another night of getting my butt kicked.'_ He thought to himself as he unclipped his sword from his belt and laid it on the ground before sitting on the edge of the roof, his feet dangling as he stared at the shattered moon.

Despite how much progress Pyrrha said he was making, it still felt like he'd made none at all. His grades had barely improved. He still had an impressive streak of losses in combat class.

He sighed again. _'Maybe my sisters were right. Maybe I really_ don't _have what it takes.'_ He thought to himself.

He began to remember all the times he'd tried to spar with them, convinced he could change their minds about him, show them he wasn't a failure. But every time he tried he would end up sprawled in the dirt, and his sisters would have something to say.

" _Give up Jaune, you're not gonna win."_

" _You don't have what it takes."_

" _You can't even hold a sword properly."_

His father hadn't done much to help. _"Jaune,"_ he'd said, _"There's no shame in not being a warrior. Our family has enough of them I think."_

Despite his words Jaune could always see the glint of disappointment in his fathers' eyes. He'd wanted his only son to be a warrior.

' _Guess I really am a disappointment huh?'_ he thought as he continued to stare at the moon.

Before he could get a grip on his emotions he thought about the times Cardin and his team had talked down to him, insulted him, and made him feel worthless.

" _How did a chump like you even make it into Beacon, let alone be made a team leader.", Cardin said._

" _Yeah, and on a team with Pyrrha Nikos of all people. Can't wait to see how badly he fucks things up with her." Russel added._

 _Dove scoffed. "As if she'd ever give him the time of day. Besides this dumbass is all over that Schnee girl like a fly on shit."_

 _That made Sky laugh. "Yeah, and every time the dipshit asks her out or even talks to her she shuts him down hard. It's painful to watch."_

That of course made him think of Weiss, and every horrible thing she'd ever said to him.

" _You don't deserve to be on the same team as Pyrrha. You didn't even know who she was, how would you possibly be able to take advantage of her skills when you don't even know about them."_

" _How could she think an imbecile like you has any kind of potential? It's obvious that you're inept and will mostly likely get your team killed because of your incompetence."_

" _They would quite simply be better off without you."_

He felt like he was trapped in his own mind, his emotions a downward spiral making him plummet even deeper into depression. Suddenly it wasn't team CRDL and Weiss saying those things, it was his own team mates. They appeared around him like phantoms. Pyrrhas' smile wasn't warm and friendly anymore, it was mocking and condescending. Nora looked at him as if he were dirt to be scraped off her shoes. Ren wouldn't even look at him.

" _You're weak Jaune. Even with my help you're still a loser and a failure." Pyrrha said._

" _You're also pretty stupid, your grades prove that. I don't know why I'm surprised. You couldn't even earn your way into Beacon like us. You faked your way in." Ren said._

" _We don't want you on our team Jaune, we'll tell Ozpin what you did and then get a replacement that's actually worth our time." Nora said._

"Shut up shut up SHUT UP!" he screamed, rising to his feet and clutching at his ears as if it would keep him from thinking these things. "What is it gonna take to make you stop." He said, falling to his knees, tears spilling down his cheeks.

He looked up, and saw the phantoms of his team standing by the edge of the roof.

" _You know what you have to do." Ren said._

Jaune stared at them, unable to truly comprehend what they were asking him to do.

Suddenly Phantom Pyrrha was there, her smile genuine and soft. She reached out and Jaune thought he could actually feel her hand on his cheek.

" _It's okay Jaune. If you do this, you won't have to worry about being a leader, about being weak." She said._

Phantom Ren kneeled next to her and placed a hand on his shoulder.

" _You won't have to worry about Cardin and his team bullying you anymore. Or that you're always letting your team down because of your poor grades or lack of combat ability." He said._

Then Phantom Nora came over and slapped him on the back.

" _You also won't have to deal with Weiss always putting you down and rejecting you." She said. "Besides, if you off yourself, Pyrrha can be our leader, and she's way more qualified right? You must think so."_

Jaune nodded. Everything made sense. If he wasn't around, Pyrrha wouldn't have to waste her evenings training him. Weiss could enjoy some peace without him always pestering her to get a date.

His family would probably be better off too. He was the shame of the Arc family, he knew. The townsfolk always laughed at him and made fun of him when they thought he couldn't hear them. Without him around his parents would be able to go places without feeling ashamed or ridiculed by the people they called friends and neighbors.

This was for the best.

With that thought firmly rooted in his mind he rose once more, walked to the edge of the roof, and leaned forward.

Gravity did its work.

The ground rushed up to greet him.

Everything went black.

 **Omake**

Cardin Winchester sat at his desk in his teams dorm, doing his best to focus on Professor Ports assignment and barely managing to do so. His team mates were all lounging around the room, having already finished the assignment earlier that day. His partner Russel was sharpening his daggers at his own desk while Dove and Sky sat on the floor playing a video game.

"The more you keep looking at stuff that isn't your assignment the longer it's gonna take." Russel said without looking up from his task. Cardin flipped the bird at his partner and glanced out the window, just in time to see a shadow fly past it. "What the hell?" Cardin muttered as he got up and moved to the window.

He pushed it open and looked down, seeing a familiar shape laying on the ground in a pool of blood.

"Holy crap." he said as he turned to face his team. "I think Arc fell off our roof." he told his team mates, making all of them turn and look at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" Russel asked, pushing past Cardin and looking out the window. "Holy crap it really is Arc." he said as he backed away from the window. Sky and Dove shared a look before being snapped out of it by Cardin.

"Dove, go get Goodwitch and let her know what happened. Sky, head down to the infirmary and let them know too so they're ready when he gets there. Russel, you're with me, we gotta make sure he's still alive or his friends will literally kill us." he said.

Sky and Dove immediately left the room, Russel and Cardin soon following. The all split off to do their job as Cardin and Russel headed outside and around to where Jaune lay.

Cardin dropped to his knees and skidded the last foot and a half, rolling Jaune over and checking his pulse. "He's still alive." he said, eliciting a sigh of relief from Russel. "Let's straighten him out and get him ready for his trip to the infirmary." Russel said, kneeling down next to his leader and helping lay Jaune out.

After that all that was left was to wait for Goodwitch, who appeared about a minute later alongside Dove and Sky and some members of the infirmary staff carrying a stretcher.

"Be very careful with him, from that high up he'll be lucky if any of his bones _aren't_ broken." the blonde woman said as she waved her riding crop and carefully lifting Jaune onto the stretcher, which was then carried away by the infirmary staff.

As they left Glynda turned to team CRDL. "Thank you for acting so quickly and informing me and the medical staff." she said.

Cardin nodded. "I may not like him but I don't want him dead. I owed him anyway, and a Winchester always settles his debts." he said.


	2. The Aftermath

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

' _What the hell?'_ Jaune thought as he regained consciousness. He forced his eyes to open, only to realize he couldn't see out of one of them.

What he could see was his arm, both his legs and his torso all wrapped in plaster casts.

With a grunt of effort and a bit of pain he looked to the right and saw an EKG machine. The source of the beeping was the heart monitor.

Realizing he'd apparently survived his suicide attempt he uttered the first word that came to mind.

"Fuck."

His word drew the attention of one of the nurses that worked the night shift, who gave him a very dirty look.

"Nice to see you awake Mister Arc. You're lucky visiting hours are over or your team would be here and you'd probably be on the receiving end of a lot of questions and hurt feelings." She said with barely an edge to her voice.

Jaune grunted in response as the nurse came over and checked his vitals. "Everything looks good given your condition. Your aura is repairing the damage at an exponential rate. I can honestly say you have the largest aura reserves I've ever seen. It's what saved you when you decided you wanted to try to fly." She continued.

Jaune grunted again and turned away from her.

The nurse regarded him with a sympathetic expression. "Mister Arc, may I call you Jaune?" she asked. When he nodded the nurse sat on his bed.

"Jaune I've been a member of Beacons staff for a long time. You aren't the first student to attempt suicide. You are however one of the few who survived. You can get help Jaune. I'm sure your team would be nothing but supportive if you told them why you did this." She said.

Again, Jaune could only grunt. The nurse sighed and got up, putting the call button close to his functioning hand.

"Just hit this button if you need anything. Try and get some more rest okay?" she said as she walked away.

Jaune sighed. How did he manage to fuck up killing himself? He really _couldn't_ do anything right.

With a fresh wave of disappointment flowing through him he passed out, hoping the next day his team wouldn't be too angry with him.

Day came, though his team didn't come to visit. It turns out the head of the medical staff had put him on suicide watch which, for some reason the nurses either couldn't or wouldn't tell him, meant that his team and friends were not allowed to visit.

So for the next three days he laid there, unable to do much except exchange a few words with whatever nurse came to check on him or clean him.

He also had to meet with Professor Peach who, along with being a teacher and actually existing, (he owed Yang twenty lien) was also a certified psychotherapist. She asked him a lot of questions about his life at home and school that he really didn't want to answer, and by the end of it he just wanted her to go away. She'd prescribed him a medium dose anti-depressant to take when he was discharged from the hospital. He'd also been informed by the professor that his parents had been contacted about what happened and were on their way. That was going to be a whole other can of worms to deal with.

Of course they were still at least a day away. His immediate problem was his team and his friends in team RWBY, who would be visiting him when classes were over for the day since the ban on visitors had been lifted.

He sat there patiently, glancing at the clock every few minutes as he thought about what he would say to them, what _they_ would say to _him._ He grew nervous, afraid even, of how angry they would be with him, how upset.

He hadn't realized he'd dozed off until he heard the door to the medical wing open and the sound of a large group of people making their way to his bed.

Pyrrha was the first to appear, barely keeping herself from hugging him when she saw the state he was in. Everyone else either went wide eyed or openly gasped when they saw him, Yang muttering "Holy shit."

It was silent, everyone trying to process that Jaune had in fact attempted suicide and really was laying there covered in casts. So Jaune did the only thing he could think of.

He made a joke

"Well, I guess it's safe to say my Semblance isn't flight huh?" he said with a chuckle.

That seemed to break everyone's stupor and allow them to speak. Unsurprisingly, Pyrrha was the first to voice her concern.

"Jaune why did you think this was okay? Why didn't you come and talk to one of us?" Pyrrha asked him.

"I didn't think it was worth talking about." He said, earning a lot of dirty looks.

"How could you think that Jaune? We're friends, and friends look out for each other right?" Ruby asked her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes.

"She's right Jaune. You were depressed and having suicidal thoughts that turned into a suicide _attempt._ How is that _not_ worth talking about?" Yang exclaimed, her eyes flashing crimson for a moment.

"This is nothing new for me Yang." He responded. "I was already depressed because I never thought I'd amount to anything. I was always an embarrassment to my family, never really good enough in their eyes. Shit I couldn't even get into Beacon on my own merits. I had to fake my transcripts. Then I was made a team leader of all things, and that just added to the pressure I was under because my incompetence might get you guys killed. Then of course there was that whole thing with Cardin and his team."

"For a few weeks after that I thought I could handle it. After all I'd done the right thing and protected someone despite how I personally felt about them, and killed an Ursa Major in the process. I was feeling pretty good about it all. But my performance in combat class didn't improve, and I still got middling to low grades on assignments that didn't involve tactics or strategy."

Everyone was quiet, partly out of shock at the fact that Jaune had felt this way apparently since the beginning, and partly out of guilt for not seeing it.

"I started feeling the pressure again, despite having the outlet of training with Pyrrha to blow off some steam. I considered writing to my family but figured it wasn't really worth it. That it wouldn't help, after all when they came with me to see me off to Beacon they said not to worry if I had to come back home. They expected me to screw up, or at least they were prepared for that if it did happen. My dream was a joke to them, just like I was. I had to beg my dad to give me the family sword because he didn't think I was worthy to wield it, though he never said it out loud." His voice cracked then, and a tear rolled down one cheek while the other was absorbed by the bandage around his face.

"The icing on this crap cake was that they were right. I wasn't good enough. I'm not strong, or fast, or clever, or skilled or anything that puts every single one of you leagues ahead of me. I am a smoldering ember surrounded by roaring infernos. And no matter how much I told myself that eventually a spark would ignite my own flame, I knew that it was more likely that my light would sputter and die."

He held up his hand as almost everyone moved to say something encouraging.

"You can stand there and say that you were all like that once, that you trained hard to be how you are now, and you're right about that. You know what the difference is? You had people who thought you had potential, for whatever reason, to train you from the time you were old enough to hold your weapons. My dad never thought that. Or he did at first, then gave up when he decided I wasn't fit to be a warrior. From there, it was like I didn't exist. No matter how hard I tried it wasn't enough to change their opinion of me."

"What happened last night was just me not being able to handle it anymore. I just wanted the pressure to go away, I wanted to not be trapped in my own mind anymore, and I _wanted the pain to fucking stop!"_ he shouted, making everyone flinch. They'd never heard Jaune swear, not even when he was angry.

Silence filled the room, everyone processing what Jaune had said. He'd laid himself bare before them, opened up to them so completely about how he felt, about what he'd been dealing with.

Ruby moved around to the side of his bed and hugged him, doing her best not to put any weight on his broken ribs.

"I'm sorry Jaune. I'm a bad friend." She sobbed. Jaune sighed and stroked her hair. "You're not a bad friend Ruby. I am." Jaune said, doing his best to console the young Huntress in training.

He looked at all of them. "I decided that instead of talking to you about how depressed I was it was easier to just jump off a building. I thought I would be doing you a favor because I was convinced that you would be better off without me, that I didn't belong here at Beacon or back in my hometown."

"I can't ask you to forgive me for this. But I want you to know I'm getting help. Professor Peach put me on anti-depressants and I'm going to be meeting her once a week for therapy." He said.

He waited for them to respond, his heart racing. Part of him expected them to just walk away, another was still afraid Yang was going to hit him. Red eyes didn't spell anything good for him in the immediate future when it came to Yang.

Finally Pyrrha moved and place her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Jaune. I'm sorry I didn't notice this sooner. I'm your partner, I should have paid closer attention." She said.

Jaune laid his hand on top of hers. "It's okay Pyr. I should have been more open about this. I'll try to be going forward." He said, earning a smile from his partner.

He talked with them for a few more hours before the nurse came by to usher them away.

"Try not to go too crazy, we'll drop some books off before class tomorrow." Pyrrha said as the left.

"I'm gonna need them. My family should be here by tomorrow." He called after them.

Sure enough; the next day, as he was wiling away the time by reading one of the books they'd dropped off, his mother, father, and all seven of his sisters were escorted to his bed.

His mother Lena immediately rushed to him, intending to hug him, but came up short when she realized how much that would hurt him.

"Oh Jaune. My poor baby what were you thinking?" she asked, attempting to remove his book from his hand, though Jaune kept an iron grip on it. Eventually she let go and sat down in a chair provided by the nurse and waited for Jaune to say something.

He didn't. He didn't even so much as look at them. He simply continued to read, occasionally setting the book down to either reach for his cup of water or to turn the page with his only good hand.

"Son, your mother's speaking to you." his father Marcus said, trying to pull his sons attention away from the book.

The bedridden blonde continued to ignore them, turning another page, though if anyone looked at his hand they would noticed that his knuckles had turned white from gripping the spine of the book so hard.

Finally with a frustrated sigh he put the book down and regarded them with a sour expression.

"You can leave now, I'm fine." He said. This of course, didn't go over well with his gathered family, though his twin sister Jeanne was the first to speak.

"Fine? _Fine?_ Jaune you jumped off a roof and you're laying here with most of your bones broken." She said, the only thing keeping her from screaming being the wrath of the staff of Beacons medical wing, which was a thing of legends.

"And, by some miracle that clearly demonstrates how much of a fuckup I am I survived, much to my disappointment. In a few days I'll be right as rain so go on, shoo. I'm sure you have better things to do than worry about me." He responded, gesturing at them dismissively like he was trying to get a bothersome family pet to get away from him and opening his book again.

This shocked the nine people who'd spent hours on an airship to get here. This was some stranger who'd taken Jaunes place and was trying to pass themselves off as a member of their family.

Of course as the only boy in a family of daughters, occasionally tempers would flair, voices would be raised, but he would never actively _dismiss_ them or indicate he didn't want them around.

"Jaune. Nathaniel. Arc. We get a phone call from the school at three in the morning telling us that, in a life full of choices, you chose to try and take your own life. We packed as much as we could and spent hours on the first flight we could get to Vale. We've barely slept we've been so worried. Then when we get here you dismiss us as if we're intruding on your life?" she asked, and when Jaune continued to ignore her she snatched the book from his hand and screamed; " _Look at me when I'm speaking to you!_ "

Marcus would remember this day for the rest of his life. The glare of Lena Arc was the stuff of legend. He honestly thought she might have been descendant from the silver eyed warriors of old.

And his son was matching her glare with one of his own in a show of willpower that he didn't know Jaune possessed. What truly chilled him and broke his heart were the words Jaune uttered a few seconds in.

"Why do you even care?" he asked, making Lena blink. "You didn't believe I had what it took to make it here. Well it turns out you were right. All the times I stumbled into bed, tired and sore from training in secret because you'd decided I wasn't worth it anymore. Every drop of sweat I shed trying to prepare myself for this, it was all for nothing." Jaune turned his eyes to his father, and the rage and hurt pouring from his eyes made the veteran Huntsman recoil.

"I still remember the day you gave up on me. I heard you talking with mom, about how I still hadn't mastered even the most basic attack patterns when Jeanne was already sparring with Alanna. You told mom that you thought I couldn't do it, couldn't be a warrior like you, Maria, Alanna . . ." Jaune let the sentence trail off.

"I noticed when you started spending more time with Jeanne, teaching her to fight while I ended up learning the more artistic stuff mom liked, like painting or playing the piano and guitar. It helped, but it didn't change the fact that you'd decided I wasn't worth teaching anymore, wasn't worth carrying on the family legacy."

Marcus looked away, unable to bear the weight of his sons' gaze, or the shame he felt for the part he'd played in his sons' suicide attempt.

"So I decided I was going to prove you all wrong, that I _was_ good enough to be a Huntsman. I didn't plan on coming home until I'd graduated and was fully certified. And I still don't, I refuse to go home with my tail between my legs and go back to being the joke of the Arc family."

Lena chose then to interrupt him. "You can't possibly think we're going to let you stay here when you quite clearly can't handle the pressure. When you're well enough to travel we're taking you home."

"I'm afraid that is simply not possible Lena." A new voice said from the entrance to the medical wing.

The Arc family turned to see professor Ozpin walking towards them, leaning a bit more heavily on his cane than normal.

"And why is that Ozpin?" Lena said, moving to stand in front of the older man and crossing her arms.

"Because today is actually Jaunes' birthday, I'm not surprised you forgot considering everything that's happened. But now that he is legally an adult only he can decide if he wants to leave Beacon." He said, taking a sip from his ever present mug.

Lena blinked, and then checked her scroll, along with every other person in the room minus Jaune. Flashing on each of their screens was an alert that read; 'JAUNES 18th BIRTHDAY!'

Lena paled. As much as she wanted to take her son away from this place that had pushed him to attempt suicide, it was now out of her hands.

She rounded on her son, fire in her eyes. "Jaune you can't seriously be considering staying here. Look what it did to you." She said, gesturing to the casts and bandages on most of his body.

Jaune sat in silence. He himself had forgotten his birthday was today. Now the choice was his to make.

He decided to at least consider going home.

His mother was right to an extent; the stress of being a team leader had been part of why he'd tried to kill himself. But at the same time if he went home, he'd be a failure. Maybe not to his parents, he was pretty sure their little discussion had made them aware of the part they played in this. He'd see himself as a failure though.

He also had no doubt the people of his hometown would see him as a laughingstock again. Jaune the joke back from Beacon because he couldn't handle it.

And he would never forgive himself if he abandoned his dream.

"I'm going to stay. I'm going to get help, and I'm not going to come home until I graduate." He said with determination.

Marcus and Lena looked at each other, then back to their only son. She motioned for Marcus to say something.

"Son, are you sure you want to stay? This has been so hard on you already. We'd feel better if you came home. We can start training again, like I should have been doing the whole time, and you can re-apply to Beacon with a little more practical experience under your belt." The Arc patriarch said, doing his best to convince his son to come home.

Jaune shook his head. "I've never been surer of something since I decided to come here. I'm already getting help, and I have friends that I can talk to if I need to." He said.

"It would seem you have your answer." Ozpin said, taking a sip from his mug.

Lena looked between Ozpin and her son before sighing in exasperation and rounding on her only son.

"You will call us once a week to tell us how you're doing. You're also going to come home whenever you have more than three days off from classes. Bring your team if you like, but you _will_ come home." She said, in a tone that would suffer no argument.

Jaune nodded, knowing there was no getting out of it.

"And make sure you take whatever medicine they give you. And talk to your friends or call us if you start feeling like you did before." Marcus chimed in, his sisters all nodding in agreement.

Jaune's family stayed by his bed until visiting hours were over and they were asked to leave, though they assured Jaune they would return the next day to spend some time with him.

As the Arcs made their way to the airship dock they were met at the entrance of the school by Pyrrha.

"You're terrible. Every last one of you." She said, her emerald eyes ablaze with anger.

"Excuse me?" Lena said indignantly as she approached the younger woman.

"You heard me. How could you do that to him, especially when he was a child? You just gave up on him when you felt he wasn't going to be what you wanted him to be. Then to put him down, to treat his dream like a joke, what kind of family does that to one of their own?" Pyrrha practically screamed.

"He has so much potential, potential you didn't see, that I've been trying to tap so he could be the person he wanted to be, so he could make you proud of him." Pyrrha's voice cracked then, and tears began to run down her cheeks.

"You don't deserve to have someone so wonderful as part of your family. Not if you've treated him like a failure and decided he wasn't worth it." She said.

Lena was absolutely livid at the words of the Huntress in training. "How dare you" she said, only for her husband to put a hand on her shoulder. "Lena let me handle this." Marcus said before crossing the few feet between his family and the young woman.

Pyrrha looked at him nervously. Marcus Arc stood at least a foot and a half taller than her and was a veritable wall of muscle. Needless to say he was intimidating.

That made it all the stranger when he scooped her up and hugged her.

"Thank you for not giving up on him." He said, hugging her so tightly Pyrrha was afraid she'd break. Eventually Marcus put her down and held her at arms-length. "I'm glad my son has someone to look out for him." He said, smiling at her.

Pyrrha wasn't sure what to say. She'd expected anger, maybe disbelief, certainly not gratitude. "Well, uh, I'm his partner. It's part of the job. I just wish I'd been able to see this coming." She said, her gaze falling to the floor as her hand came up to rub her arm.

"Try not to worry yourself too much over it. He's agreed to get help, and he's promised to talk to you when he needs to right?" Marcus asked. Pyrrha nodded. "Then the best thing you can do is keep doing what you've been doing." He said, patting the girl on the head.

"I- I will." She said, surprised at the turn this had taken. Marcus smiled at her. "You'll make a good daughter-in-law. Come on girls, let's get back to the hotel." He said, gesturing for his family to follow as he walked past a now blushing Pyrrha.

 _ **ONE MONTH LATER**_

"So Jaune, how have things been since you were discharged?" Professor Peach asked as Jaune sat down in one of the comfy armchairs in her office.

"Really good actually, my team always makes sure I take my medicine as soon as I'm awake and before we head out for breakfast Nora pulls us all into a team hug. Team RWBY has been really supportive too, always trying to include me and my team in their antics. Everyone also goes out of their way to make me feel included." He said with a chuckle. "Though at times I feel like I don't have any time to myself."

Peach wrote something down on her notepad, though Jaune could see the smile on her face. "And have any of your friends reacted negatively beyond their original shock of your suicide attempt?" she asked.

Jaune rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know if it counts but Coco Adel, the leader of team CFVY, she got pretty mad at me over it, though I don't think it was because of the attempt itself, I think it's because it upset her teammate Velvet. She didn't take it well, and Coco had some very strong words for me when I was discharged, though Velvet just hugged me and begged me not to do it again." He said, and watched Peach write down more things on her notepad.

"Do you find the medicine effective, or should we consider changing your dosage?" she asked. Jaune shook his head.

"Not at all, I'm in a really good place right now so I don't see any reason to change anything." He said. Professor Peach nodded, still scribbling on her notepad.

"Well, you're certainly making excellent progress Jaune. We may end up lowering your dose in the coming weeks, especially if you continue to bounce back the way you are." She said, getting a chuckle from the blond across from her.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it." He said. Professor Peach nodded and glanced at her watch. "I hope you don't mind if we end our session a little early, I have some paperwork to catch up on." she said. Jaune nodded and left her office, heading back to his dorm.

Things were really starting to look up for him. Yeah he still felt down sometimes, but he wasn't afraid to talk to his team about it, even if the reason he was feeling down wasn't clear.

And on the worst days when all he wanted to do was sit on his bed and cry Nora would initiate the 'Team JNPR Cuddle Pile' and have everyone cuddle on the couch under a giant blanket with Jaune in the middle of them so he would know he was surrounded by people who loved him. Team RWBY and Velvet would even participate occasionally if they felt it was serious enough.

He also made sure to call his parents, who asked him about a thousand questions concerning his wellbeing and when he had free time so he could come home. They also questioned whether or not he and Pyrrha had started dating yet, which always embarrassed him.

All in all, as much as he regretted what he did and what it had put his team, friends, and family through, he was ultimately grateful that he'd jumped off that building. It had opened the door for him to actively seek help, and because of that he'd grown closer to his team and friends.

And that was something he was thankful for.

* * *

 **Well, that's kinda it ladies and gentlemen. If the ending seems abrupt or lackluster I apologize, I couldn't come up with a decent ending that wasn't something I already said. Hopefully you still liked it. Now to counteract how serious this was let's have us a lighthearted omake involving Jaunes sisters.**

 **To avoid confusion here's the layout for the Magnificent Seven as I like to call Jaune's sisters.**

 **Maria: Oldest (24)**

 **Alanna: Second Oldest (23)**

 **Katrina: Third Oldest (21)**

 **Jeanne: Middle child and Jaune's twin (17)**

 **Grace: Third Youngest (15)**

 **Sarah: Second Youngest (14)**

 **Ellen: Youngest (13)**

In a small room in the Arc household seven young women had gathered at a small round table, a series of folders lying before them, with one at the center, open to reveal a blonde young man with a goofy smile on his face.

These were the sisters of Jaune Arc, and after his attempted suicide they'd convened to settle a matter that they'd left unattended for far too long.

"Ladies, I think we all know why we're here." Maria said, gesturing to the folders surrounding the picture of their brother. "Our sweet and only brother recently decided it was a good idea to swan dive off of a dorm building. And while he has agreed to get help I think we all feel that an extra hand wouldn't be unwelcome. Agreed?" she said, looking to her sisters, who all nodded.

"Good, so let's look at the candidates and commence Operation Brotherly Love." She said, grabbing a folder and opening it.

"This is our first and, in my opinion strongest, candidate." She said, passing out leaflets that included a picture of the candidate. "Pyrrha Nikos is already very familiar with our brothers' habits and quirks. She's also been training him for months and has been nothing but supportive. It also helps that she already seems to be head over heels for him. Her strong empathy and devotion make her the most suitable choice." Maria continued.

"I disagree." Alanna said, opening another file. "Those traits you tout so highly are exactly what are holding her back. She keeps waiting to act, hoping he'll see that she has feelings for him rather than just taking what she wants. My candidate on the other hand, is the exact opposite." she said, pointing at the picture in the file she'd opened. "Ruby Rose. A prodigy, accepted into Beacon two years early. She's ambitious, and at the same time she has every quality Pyrrha has without it turning into 'mother hen' tendencies." She said.

"True but Ruby is two years younger than Jaune, and from what information we have she's not really good when it comes to relationships of any kind." Maria countered. "And while the two share a close friendship considering they're both team leaders, it's not like anything could develop past that. Besides, she's lacking a pair of hefty assets that Pyrrha has." She continued.

At this point Katrina spoke up. "If we're going by assets there's two people that are definitely on the list." She said, opening two more folders. "Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older sister, and Blake Belladonna. Blake's aren't as big as either Pyrrhas' or Yangs' though I don't think Jaune will complain too much. I've also seen her fight, she's very flexible. She's also quiet and a bit of an introvert, a trait she and Jaune share."

"She also has the emotional range of a statue." Grace said, drawing the attention of her older sisters. "Besides isn't she into that monkey faunus, Sun Wukong?" she asked. Maria couldn't help but nod.

"You do have a point about Sun, but their relationship still seems to be up in the air, and therefore subject to change. As for her 'emotional range' as you so succinctly put it, showing little emotion is not the same as having none. She could be an emotional rock during bad situations. That can be more valuable than you think little sister." Maria said.

"That said we still have Xiao Long, who's sporting the biggest pair of all our candidates and is far more outgoing than any of them. She's a known party girl and has no problem roping other people into her antics. This could definitely help Jaune come out of his shell, make him more outgoing, Oum knows he needs some of that in his life." Katrina said.

 _THUNK_

Six sets of eyes al focused on the one who'd made the sound.

Jeanne Arc, Jaunes twin and fellow middle child, had apparently slammed her head on the table during the discussion.

"Something to add Jeanne?" Alanna asked. Jeanne picked her head up off the table and stared at her oldest sisters.

"You guys said we wouldn't let bust size be a deciding factor yet here we are including that in our arguments. This isn't just going to be Jaunes girlfriend, she's going to be our potential sister in law. So can we please get back on track?" she declared heatedly. Maria sighed and nodded. "Okay okay, you're right. Do you have anything else to add?" Maria asked.

Jeanne shook her head. "I'll wait til we've deliberated everyone else before I throw in my two lien." She said, leaning back and crossing her arms.

Sarah, the second youngest of the Arc children opened a folder. "What about Weiss?" she asked innocently, only to recoil when every other person in the room shouted "NO!"

"Sarah we know you mean well but she and Jaune just aren't good for each other. Besides it's painfully obvious that she doesn't like him." Jeanne said, laying her hand on her sisters' shoulder.

The debate raged for over an hour as candidates were considered and rejected. Ruby was eliminated ultimately due to her age and potential bodily harm by Yang, who was also eliminated because she might be a bit too much for Jaune to handle. This was also the same reason Nora Valkyrie was given the thumbs down. Well, that and the fact she was Lie Ren's girlfriend, even if the poor boy didn't know it.

Eventually however the potential girlfriends were narrowed down until only Pyrrha remained and Maria turned to her brothers' twin. "Jeanne, care to throw in your lien now?" she asked.

Jeanne nodded and placed a new folder on the table, opening it to reveal one final candidate.

"I believe we have a dark horse that we've overlooked. Velvet Scarlatina has been friends with Jaune since he stood up to their mutual tormentor, Cardin Winchester. Though it isn't obvious she clearly has some form of feelings for Jaune, most likely because he helped her by making Cardin stop bullying her."

Maria picked up the file and looked it over for a few minutes. "She certainly _is_ the dark horse. What made you want to include her on the candidate list?" she asked, setting the folder down on the table.

"She's a little bit of every candidate we've considered already. She's a bit of an introvert but isn't afraid to try new things so she's just as likely to want to go out and have fun as she is to want to order takeout and spend a night inside reading. She's also the 'team mom' of her own team but she doesn't seem to be as overbearing as Pyrrha. There's also one thing she has going for her that Pyrrha doesn't." Jeanne said, tapping the thing that stood out most about Velvet.

"She's a rabbit faunus." Maria said, pinching the bridge of her nose. They loved their mother, truly they did, but Lena Arc was damn near obsessed with rabbits. It was half the reason their family was so large, and also why there was a cartoon rabbit on most of their childhood clothing. And now that there was a possibility of her potential grandchildren having rabbit ears their mother would surely push to make sure Velvet and Jaune started dating.

"That aside I think Velvet would be an excellent girlfriend for our brother. So, let's put it to a vote. All in favor of Pyrrha please raise your hand." Maria said, raising her own hand along with Alanna and Grace. "All in favor of Velvet?" she said, watching as Susan, Ellen, Jeanne and Katrina raise their hands.

"Then it's decided. We contact Velvet tomorrow and set the wheels in motion." Maria said, closing the folders and gathering them up.

There was a knock at the door before it opened and Marcus poked his head in. "Hey girls, your mom needs you to help with dinner. Whatcha up to?" he asked, glancing at the folders in his daughters hands.

"We're figuring out who Jaune's girlfriend should be." Ellen said.

Marcus blinked several times before running a hand through his hair. "Just make sure this doesn't turn out like last time." He said.

* * *

 **A/N: This is here to address some issue you may have with the story, though it's more of a response to two guest reviewers (really wish I could respond to those) who apparently didn't bother to read the other stuff I've written about Jaune since they accused me of apparently being like every other Jaune writer who makes him out to be a social outcast or have depression issues.**

 **Addressing his failed suicide attempt: Would you prefer if he just succeeded in his suicide attempt? Would that make this story somehow better?**

 **As for him 'magically' learning his lesson on his own: Yeah, you're kinda right. But considering he sees how much it hurt his friends that he did this and didn't even bother talking to them, makes sense that he would realize it was a stupid thing to do.**

 **Regarding him venting his frustrations and everyone siding with him out of pity: Jaune _is_ venting his frustrations yes and people are siding with him, but they're also only hearing his side of the story, based on his perspective and his experiences. With him telling his friends this, of course they're going to side with him because they're his friends, who else are they going to side with? When he tells his family the part they played in it it's a wake up call for them. In Volume 3 Jaune talks about how his parents wouldn't be surprised if he had to come back home, proving they had very little, if any, faith in him to begin with. Maybe that affected him more than we see when he's on screen.**

 **As for him fixing the problem on his own: He's not doing it alone. He's fixing it with the help of his friends.**

 **Now to address the part I took the most issue with, the part where I need to 'get help' and 'not lose my time using a fictional character to write a fantasy where I can be happy'**

 **My life admittedly isn't that great. I'm almost 25 and I still live at home and at the same time can't seem to keep a job. I know damn well that I am the disappointment of my family and wrote the first chapter of the story while I was in a very depressed state.**

 **But I _am_ getting help and I _am_ facing my problems. I'm on an anti-depressant and I talk to a therapist once a month.**

 **Last thing, if you're tired of reading 'Shit like this where the only personal thing the writer shares is this depression crap' STOP FUCKING READING IT! There's filters at the bottom of the fic list for a fucking reason!**


	3. A Public Service announcement

**Hey everybody. I know you were expecting a new chapter of the story and I'm sorry if you got excited only for it to be this, but you all deserve an explanation for my absence and lack of updates.**

 **The simple fact of the matter is; I burned out, hard. I had a lot of ideas and made the mistake of trying to work on everything at once instead of focusing on one thing at a time and using my downtime to plan out the next idea.**

 **Burning out killed my interest in both rwby and writing, so I decided I would just take the time to get my passion for both back and work on some stuff outside of that so I don't burn out all over again.**

 **And after all this time I think its' time to get back on the horse. I've got a roadmap of how I want things to go that should help me deal with all the stuff I want to put out.**

 **So first of all; Promises will become the main focus of my attention since its almost done, and in the meantime, as I stated above, I'll be planning out how I want Party of Fools to go while I work on that.**

 **For the three people still interested in Road Trip, sadly that ones coming down. It needs a major rewrite, simple as that. Everything just kinda happens with no real explanation or reasoning. It's just 'hey your car broke down, wanna tour the country with us?' 'Sure group of guys we know nothing about.'**

 **See? Makes no sense. So it's gonna be back to the drawing board to make things work better.**

 **Over the Edge is, for all intents and purposes, complete. It was supposed to just be Jaune attempting suicide and dealing with the fallout of it failing.**

 **I do plan to work on a sequel to it based on the ending scene with Jaunes sisters, I just want to work out how that's going to play out since I want it to be a bit more comedic.**

 **Now that the rwby stuff is out of the way lets move on to A Visit from Dad 76, the Overwatch fic I was working on. My interest in Overwatch has kinda waned since it's last update but I think I have a couple more chapters of that I can throw out there.**

 **And I think that's it, I might take some time to do some non-rwby stuff that isn't Overwatch related at some point in the future but for now Promises is taking priority.**


End file.
